Look at these dark, fudgy brownies, all studded with walnut nubs. But look closer: these have a very, very unusual ingredient. Do you know what it is? Hint: these brownies are gluten-free.
It's black beans! Yes, these brownies are composed of pureed black beans, along with agave nectar, unsweetened Scharffen Berger dark chocolate, a bit of ground coffee, and lots and lots of butter. (They're definitely not vegan!)
This recipe comes from Heidi Swanson and 101 Cookbooks, although the recipe is actually reprinted from a cookbook about baking with agave nectar. It calls for about a cup and a half of agave nectar, as well as the black beans, so it's definitely not your Betty Crocker brownie recipe.
The result is a really, really fudgy brownie, with a dark chocolate taste and not too much sweetness. They are also very soft; Heidi suggests leaving them in the fridge. We definitely agree; leave them in the refrigerator or freezer until ready to cut and serve.
We like these — with one caveat. They are better a day or two after baking. Honestly, the first night we baked and tried these, we weren't that impressed. They were just so low on sweetness, and the fudgy texture wasn't there yet. They were a little soft, a little crumbly, and just flat dark chocolate.
But after a day or so, it seemed like the flavors really bloomed, and as they firmed up in the fridge the chocolate and walnut tastes mellowed out in the nicest way. They are definitely a new favorite for when we need to bake gluten-free, and we're sure that if you love dark chocolate you'll love these too.
• Get the recipe: Amazing Black Bean Brownie Recipe
Have you ever tried these amazing black bean brownies?
Related: The Best Chewy Chocolate Cookies Ever (& Low-Fat Too)
(Originally published November 3, 2009)
(Images: Faith Durand)
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I don't know...black beans are not something I think of going into a dessert.
Funny that you print this - there's a new yoga studio in my neighborhood and they sent me out the door after class with one of these gluten-free brownies left over from their Halloween party. They were a bit more fudgy than I usually like my brownies, but they were still quite good. It's always a treat when someone has a baked goods on the table and one choice happens to be gluten-free so I can enjoy some, too.
I forgot to mention: It didn't taste like black beans at all. I never would have guessed if they hadn't told me.
Same with these! Black beans would never have occurred to me; they just taste like fudgy brownies.
Yes! I love these. I have a recipe review on my blog here. I thought they were great, and not at all a disappointing substitute for "real" brownies.
- Amelia of Gradually Greener
My mom made these and they taste quite good. One would never guess that there is black beans in them.
These look great and so chocolatey. Would love to try the recipe sometime soon!
I had black bean brownies not too long ago and they were great - no hint in the taste that there were black beans in them.
Since they taste better a couple days later out of the fridge, do you eat them cold or let them come back to room temp?
I made the flourless (black bean) brownies from the Whole Foods site - I wanted a better alternative for my kids. We all hated them (myself included) and I'm big on "weird-crunchy-granola-type" foods. Maybe I needed to let them sit for a while, as suggested.
This reminds me of a treat my dad would make us growing up: vanilla ice cream topped with warm black beans. Mmm!
lol before I opend the post I was yelling in the office "PINTO BEANS!! PINTO BEANS!!" but alas, it was black beans. This totally reminded me of Pinto Bean Fudge. yummy!!
chinese deserts often have sweetened beans. This seems like a reasonable extension.
Great, I'm always on the lookout for a good dessert which will give me the farts.
Thanks, kitchn!
I wonder if red/azuki beans would work as well in brownies. They're already used in sweet bean paste, which is used in some Asian sweets.
Since I cook vegetarian, I'm always looking for new ways to incorporate protein into my diet... black bean brownies sound perfect for this!
I made this a while back, but tweaked the recipe a bit to reduce the amount of butter. Also, I used azuki beans instead of black beans. The resulting brownies were good, although the texture was different (as you described).
What I want to try now is brownies made from beets.
I make a lower carbohydrate version of these using Eden Organics black soybeans too. Very similar to black beans - no one knew that beans were in them!
Oh they look so yummy!
I just made mashed potato chocolate candy bars, but black bean brownies are on my list to make next.
Weird ingredients make yummy sweets!
As soon as I clicked into the post and saw the black beans, I was guessing it was Heidi Swanson's recipe.
I have this recipe in my file waiting to be tried. I just keep not getting around to it.
Oh this is a very old weight watchers trick! It actually really works
LOL@Sylvie78....black bean brownies, the more you eat the more you *toot* that would definitely be a deterrent to pigging out on a plate of brownies.
@sylvie78 Good one! Everyone at work wonders why I am laughing!
Tried these a while back, and they are great. Agreed--leave them in the fridge and don't try 'em the night you make 'em.
Hmm... I made these awhile back from Heidi's site and have to say that I was so disappointed that I didn't serve them at my party as planned. While the chocolaty-coffee flavor was lovely (and no hint of black beans), they were so flat and thin, (see the last picture in the post) and were an odd consistency- crumbly yet fudgey. My boyfriend, who will eat anything chocolate, let them sit in the fridge for a week before we finally had to throw them out. It was a bummer!